Mockingjay
by SugahRush
Summary: Months after the Quell, Peeta is still missing and Katniss is falling apart. Haymitch struggles with alcohol and his confused feelings. It's been so long since he loved, is he still capable of it? Prim is surviving, but barely. How will it all end?
1. Chapter 1

Mockingjay

Madge stepped into Katniss' room. She shivered as cold air streamed into the room. Closing the window, she turned and stumbled over a stack of books. They were histories of North America before it had been destroyed, and stories of the revolution. It was risky to have these books, but it was risky to defy the Capitol, and risky to run off to District 13. So there wasn't any point in avoiding taboo books. Why bother? Madge looked at her sleeping friend. She looked so scared. Her lips moved, and Madge imagined she was screaming something. Who knew what. She sighed and left the room. She told Haymitch what she had discovered. He sounded thrilled to hear that Katniss had been reading old histories. Probably give her stupid ideas. He said she was going to get herself killed one of these days. He could stand to work on his people skills a little. Make that a lot. But just as he was about to start ranting about idiot teenagers (he did that a lot), a rebel wearing a scarf bearing the mockingjay entered the room. "This just played on CBC," he explained. "You'll want to watch it right away. It's important." And then he left. Haymitch popped the chip into the drive and pressed play. He scowled as President Snow's face filled the screen.

He said that as punishment for crimes against the Capitol, Peeta Mellark was to be executed in forty-eight hours- unless Katniss turned herself in before that time was up.

Haymitch sighed. "_That_ was unexpected," he said bitterly. It was killing him. Or killing Peeta, anyway. He had seen him and Katniss through two Hunger Games, and it was looking like they might end up dead anyway. Pretty depressing stuff.

President Snow screamed in agony as Katniss' arrow pierced his heart. He sank to the ground, and then vanished, and then there was only a fine mist left of him. Only a swirling fog left of the man that had made Katniss live

living hell since the day of the first reaping, when Katniss had volunteered to save her sister, thinking she was accepting the death sentence. But then another figure was emerging from the fog. It was insubstantial at first, but it became more solid, until Katniss could make out a girl, short and slim,

leaning slightly forward as if she were about to take flight. Rue. And then she was really flying, and then she was hit by a spear, and a cannon went off, and she was falling, screaming for Katniss to help her. But then her scream turned into a snarl as her body twisted and morphed into that of a wolf-like creature that Katniss had seen before. In the Arena. The Arena. Rue had died in the Arena. How Katniss hated it. Rue was on a collision course for her, all traces of the spear and of her fear gone. But just as she was inches from plunging her teeth into Katniss' throat, there was a buzzing that filled Katniss' mind.

And then she woke up. She should have been able to tell it was a dream, but she couldn't. The nightmares had come back since Peeta was captured by the Capitol, and they terrified her more that ever. Peeta was now prominently featured in a lot of them, but this night it had been Rue. Katniss hit the sleep button on her alarm. She sighed. She didn't want to face another day. Her sleep had been anything but restful, and she was exhausted. But of the many negative things she could be dwelling on, the only one she really thought about was the fact that Peeta was gone. She was certain that she had been trying to save him in her dream. Peeta. She had to save him for real now.

A/N Sorry to confuse anyone, but this story is still in progress, and I made some changes to chapter two, and had to change chapter one to match. This is my first fan fic, so please review, tell me what I did right and what I did wrong, and don't spare my feelings! I need honest feedback. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

It took Katniss hours to fall asleep. She just couldn't stop thinking about Peeta. His face. His hands. His voice. And she wished she could hear that voice again. She missed it so badly. Missed him so badly. She sighed and rolled over. A few minutes later, she fell asleep. Her last conscious thought was that she had to save Peeta.

When Katniss woke, it was past 11:00 am. She felt disgusting, and the first thing she did was take a shower. The District 13 showers weren't as nice as the ones in the Capitol, but they had hot water, so they were a definite improvement over the ones back home. Come to think of it, the ones back home didn't exist. No showers in District 12. That was one thing she wouldn't miss. Another was the constant fear. The fear of being caught hunting by a new and less lenient Peacekeeper. The fear of starvation. She could provide for her family while she was healthy, but what if she had been injured? Even being unable to hunt for a few days would be unbearable. She was safe from those fears here. Sure, she was scared now, but she knew she was doing something about it. But that was the fear for herself and her family. The fear for Peeta was different. She had no idea where he was. Or if he was even alive. Those fears she could do nothing about.

She dressed and went down the elevator. She was a little scared of them, here is District 13. She was already deep underground, and the idea of going further didn't thrill her. When she stepped out, Gale was there, with Madge. For a second she was terrified he would be angry with her. Since she had rejected him, her best friend was gone, and she missed him. But then she saw the way he looked at Madge, and she was happier than she had been in days. He was finally over her. She hadn't wanted to hurt him, but it was the only option. It wasn't terribly obvious. He didn't look like a lovesick puppy or anything. No, he looked shy almost. And Gale Hawthorne was not shy. Katniss had known Gale for years, and he was definitely moving on.

"Hey Madge, hey Gale!" she said cheerfully. She didn't want to spoil the good mood with her problems. "Hey, Katniss," he said. And he actually smiled. He hadn't smiled around her in weeks. This was certainly progress.

"Hi, Katniss!" Madge chirped, perky as ever. Madge hugged her friend, and Katniss hugged her back. It was wonderful to see someone who made Gale happy, and she was glad it was Madge. Madge was a good person, a kind person, and besides, Katniss was perfectly aware that Madge had been crushing on Gale since fifth grade. Gale was probably still a little sad, but he had had three months. Surely that had helped. If that hadn't helped, Madge certainly had. That or he was high. Which was unlikely, since District 13 didn't allow drugs to be possessed by anyone but a trained medical professional. Nothing more powerful than Advil left a doctor's office. Plus, there was no way Gale was doing drugs. So, apparently, Madge was the antidote to his depression or anger or whatever was wrong with him. Katniss smiled back at him. Madge had her hand on his arm, and he looked even happier. Yes, Madge was the antidote alright. Screw time. This was what he needed. "Headed to the meeting?" Gale asked.

"Because if you are, you missed the entire thing. They had a tape to show. It's bad. You'll want to see it," he added.

"Do you think Haymitch is still there? Maybe he could show it to me," she said, all her cheerfulness gone.

"Probably. He said he'd wait for a while," Madge replied, no longer so chirpy.

"Ok. Thanks. I better go see what it is."

She knew she could have just asked them, but it was clearly awful, and she wanted to take the several minutes it would take to walk to the meeting to compose herself. What could it be? Had the Capitol bombed something important? Had they executed all the rebels they had captured? If they had, did that include Peeta?

In Katniss opinion, the Capitol citizens wouldn't care enough, and if they did they wouldn't have the backbone to do anything about it, but the Capitol still took pains to ensure that its citizens were entirely clueless. And from the examples Katniss had seen, it worked perfectly. Pretty much everyone there was a total idiot. She couldn't help but think of Venia, Flavius, and Octavia. They weren't really _bad_ people, but they were idiotic and petty and wasteful. She really couldn't stand them. It wasn't that she really disliked them in particular, but they were too Capitol, too inhuman. They really didn't seem like people, and they didn't act like people either. Or at least not her kind of people. Not Seam people, or even merchant families. Merchant people might have it easier that Seam people, but they still had to work hard, and they didn't dye their skin or change their eyes or make themselves throw up just so they could eat more. And there was another more important difference. Merchant kids still had to go into the reaping, but Capitol kids did not. The Hunger Games nauseated Katniss. She still felt like throwing up or crying when she thought of Rue. And she felt almost worse about Marvel. He had been murdering a little girl, and she hated him for it. But then she had killed him. And now she felt horrible about it. Sure, he was a Career. And sure, he had killed Rue. But who she really felt pure, untempered anger and hatred toward was the Capitol. She despised everything about it. It was beautiful, but it was really a whitewashed tomb. Lovely to look at on the outside, it looked pure and wonderful to the eye. But on the inside it was full of sadistic, hateful people, who did sadistic, hateful things to innocent teenagers every year, in punishment for something that had happened 75 years ago. It was full of death and decay. Especially death. Every year, not only were the tributes killed, but anyone else who displeased the Capitol had three options: death, pretty popular, becoming an Avox, also common, and prison. Which was actually a lot like a death sentence. There was a prison where Capitol people went, for minor things, and it really wasn't that bad. Probably the worst torture undergone there was that the floodlight by the tennis courts only went to 11:00 pm. But the prison camps were another story entirely. Filthy, with little food, and what there was disgusting. And

plenty of rebels knew that from experience. There had been a few escapes, but the Capitol always claimed this person had been executed, or released because they had gone insane, or some other ridiculous and totally false excuse. But the Capitol didn't have to make them very often, because these prison camps were nearly impossible to escape from. All things considered, prison, or at least District Prison, made being an Avox look like a bed of roses. At least you get fed regularly and were provided a bed, albeit an uncomfortable one. The Capitol kept it's Avoxes in decent shape, or else they would become useless.

"Hello, Haymitch," she sighed. "So, how bad is it?" she asked.

"Terrible. Here," he replied, hitting the play button. He had gotten it all set up for her. As she watched, her mouth fell open. It was horrible.

"What are we going to do?" she groaned.

"I thought your mother would want to be included. She's over there. I have her 'sorting medical supplies' with Prim. Before we let her join us, though, we should decide what we want to do."

"Well, I'm going, and I don't care what she says."

"Yes, of course you're going, but we have to spin this one right."

"Spin it? How? I think it's pretty obvious what they're doing! I'm just not letting Peeta die like this!"

"Quite. But what do we want the Capitol to think?"

"Umm, that we're not letting them squish us this easily?" she guessed.

"No. We want them to think that we aren't too worried about Peeta, we want them to think that we have another plan up our sleeves, and that he's not really necessary. Then we should have a chance of getting you two back out

alive."

"Ok, how do you want to do that? Cuz if you expect me to do some brilliant acting job and convince them of it, you're out of luck."

"A little faith! I didn't base this on your acting abilities, I'm not stupid. No, this is based on the efficiency of our pilots, how good our spies are, and on your nerve. Yes, you have nerve, if not brains or a talent for the cameras."

"Gee, thanks."

"Welcome, sweetheart. So, ready to sell your mom on this?"

"Yeah. This is gonna be a lot of fun."

Haymitch went to the medicine closet and called to Mrs. Everdeen. She gave Prim her checklist, and went to see what he wanted. He didn't show her the video, but he explained the situation.

"So, if we pretend we have no intention of letting Katniss go, but she-"

"Pretend? That won't be necessary! We have no intention whatsoever of letting Katniss go, and that is final!"

"Is it now?" Haymitch began, starting to get angry.

"Yes! Letting her go would be a death sentence! I'm sorry about Peeta, but they'll kill both of them if she goes. I'd rather see him die then see both of them die."

"But Mrs. Everdeen, not letting her go would be a death sentence! Surely you don't think the revolution will succeed without this boy? We need his power over words! We need him as much as we need the Mockingjay!"

"Well, losing one is better than losing both!"

"But we will lose both of them, and everyone else, without him! The Capitol was harsh and unforgiving seventy-five years ago. Do you think they have changed?"

"No. But she is not going. I'm her mother, and it's for me to say."

"Wait just a minu-"

"It's for neither of you to say! I'm sorry, Mom, but I have to go, and you can't stop me."

"Oh yes I can! I'm your mother and you'll do as I say!"

"Oh no I won't! You weren't a mother to me after Father died, and you aren't taking over my life now!" 

Mrs. Everdeen gasped as if she had been struck, and swept out of the room, leaving the building. Prim had watched the whole thing, but she wouldn't have had to look to know her mother had tears streaming down her face. Prim melted back into the shadows. She hadn't ever been a sneaky person, but it's funny what being part of a war can do to a person. She wanted badly to join the army, but she knew she wasn't old enough. Even if she were older though, Haymitch probably wouldn't let her. She knew as well as anyone what had happened to her sister with the jabberjays during the Quell. She told herself she was helping. After all, her mother told her she was a big help with the medicines. Maybe she could help more, once the injured were flowing in. She really wanted to feel useful. She sighed, and headed back over to the checklist.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Peeta just sat there. That was pretty much all he did these days. That and wonder. Wonder what had happened to his family, the other rebels, everyone else who had been in the arena, and most of all, what had happened to Katniss. Was she alive? Was she alright? Johanna had told him they would work on his mind, but was this really the Capitol, or was it himself? He had heard guards walking by saying that Katniss had been captured and was being tortured, Katniss was with Gale, Katniss was dead. The rumors changed every day, it seemed, but were any of them true? He told himself that they were just playing mind games, but were they? The Capitol was so powerful, and the rebels so weak. Maybe she really was dead. Probably not. No, it was more likely that they had captured her and were trying to get information out of her. But she was a fighter. They were probably beating her right now, and she was going to die soon, because you can only fight for so long, and "Peeta! I know exactly what you are thinking! And it's not true! None of it!" Johanna snapped. It was grating in her nerves, trying to keep Peeta from going insane. It was bad enough, being kept in a disgusting cell in a prison camp in the middle of nowhere with almost nothing to eat or drink. But doing it with a love-sick teenager who is nearly crazy with grief was even worse. He seemed to be listening now, though.

"I know, Johanna, but I can't help it!" he said. "What if she's dead? Or what if they're torturing her?"

"Of course they're not! They just want you to think that. I thought you were supposed to be the one that was good at reading people. Of course they aren't torturing her! IF they had her, she would be their most valuable bargaining chip, and they wouldn't want to risk killing her."

Johanna knew that if they had her, they would probably be executing her in a painful, and public way right now. But telling him that would definitely not help. He sighed. "I guess you're right," he said. Johanna smirked to herself.

Was he ever easy to fool! This was getting easier with time. If she could just get to the point where she could calm him down in her sleep, maybe she could get some rest. Then again, maybe not. She was holding up better than Peeta, but she still had been in better mental and physical health. Right now, if she had a knife, it would be seriously tempting to slash her wrists and just get it over with. Then she would die on her terms, not the Capitol's. Scratch that. Committing suicide in a tiny cell in prison camp? No, that would not be on her terms. It would be downright pathetic. Speaking of pathetic, Peeta was getting worked up again. She considered knocking him out. It wouldn't be hard to do, but she didn't want to get him any more beat up than he already was. They had both undergone torture before the Capitol decided they didn't know anything important. That was of course ridiculous. Johanna wasn't up to par on the most current plans, but she knew the location of all of their bases, and a whole lot of names. Like she was telling. Because Johanna was a fighter too. And she was going to keep fighting until the Capitol and everything it stood for was utterly destroyed. And not for herself. Her best friend had died in the Hunger Games years ago. And Johanna was going to fight for her.

"Johanna, why did you join the rebellion?" Peeta asked. It was funny he would ask now, when she had just been thinking of it herself. Maybe he had seen the look in her eyes. Johanna thought for a second, then decided to tell him.

"A long time ago, there was a little girl named Johanna Mason who was happy. She had a wonderful family that loved her, and she loved them. And she had a best friend named Angelica. And Angelica was the closest thing to an angel I ever saw. She was kind and sweet, and beautiful, too. Her mother died, and her father grieved for her every day, but he loved Angelica more that life itself. But one Reaping Day, Angelica was chosen. She was only thirteen years old. No tesserae. Just two names in thousands. But she was chosen. She died the first day. Didn't have a chance. I never expected her to come home. She wasn't strong enough, and I don't think she could have killed, anyway. She believed it was wrong. She would have rather died than harmed a human being. It was horrible. A Career snapped her neck. I'm not the most religious person, but I know that if there is a heaven, then Angelica is up there with God right now. I hope she didn't see me in the Games. She wouldn't have stooped to their level, and I did. So in a way, Angelica was always stronger than me. She knew where she stood, and nothing could change it. Not even the Hunger Games."

Tears were streaming down her face, and she did nothing to wipe them away. Johanna Mason didn't show weakness, but this wasn't weakness. This was love. She drew strength from the memory of Angelica. Angelica would cry over the death of a field mouse, but she was always strong for her friends, and even in death, she strengthened Johanna in a way no one else could. Peeta was amazed. Everything about Johanna screamed self preservation. He always thought of her as cold and hard, with her heart locked away somewhere no one could touch. For good or for bad. But he should have known that no child grows up that way, and that she had to have cared for someone at some point in her life. And she had cared about her friends and her family. "What happened to your family?" he asked, hoping he wasn't pushing it. "My parents died of old age, and my little sister is married now. As far as I know, they're fine. My parents are probably in heaven with Angelica, worried that I won't be joining them. And really, do you think I will? I'm not kidding myself. I'm a murderer. What else can I expect?" Johanna looked so hopeless, Peeta knew he had to say something, but what? That she _was_ a good person? No, she really wasn't. That there wasn't a heaven or hell? No. His father had been a religious man, and Peeta was firmly convinced that there was another world beyond this one. He finally settled on what to say. "Johanna, I'm not an expert on this. I don't know hardly anything about it. But my father believed that God would forgive anything, if you asked Him to. So I guess that's what you should do." And that was all he said. He was as confused as Johanna. But he was certain that he had done the right thing. And then he saw something amazing. Johanna Mason closed her eyes, folded her hands, and prayed. She didn't say anything out loud, and Peeta didn't blame her. He just hoped she could find some peace.

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games, or any of these characters. **

**A/N Ok everyone! I hope you enjoy the third installment. I am going to be on vacation next week, without a computer, so I won't be updating for a while. Please review. Thanks! **

**~SugahRush~**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Hunger Games. If I did, I would be working on the real Mockingjay. (Obviously.)**

**Hey everyone! I'm back from summer camp. It was wonderful, but I missed you guys. So, here's chapter four. Please R&R!**

**~SugahRush~**

Chapter Four

Haymitch stared at his computer screen and groaned. Oh joy. He deleted the message, and clicked the **compose reply** button.

Rita,

Aim for the night after tomorrow. Katniss and Peeta should be put in the same cell. Bug the camera(s) and have them stream to my computer. Yours, too. Have it set up so you can stream false images to the master system. Take some boring footage and mix it around a little, so the computer doesn't match it up with anything else. Have that ready to go as well. Have Grahmbell pull the escape alarm to create a distraction. Mia and Bracken will go in and get them out. We have extra hovercrafts, and we're gonna get out as many other rebels as possible. Hopefully the Capitol will think that the soldiers and spies are the main target, or that we think Katniss and Peeta are in with them. Either way.

Haymitch

He clicked send and leaned back. He reached for the bottle of liquor beside him, and was about to take a swig, when Effie breezed in and grabbed it from him. She swept over to the window, opened it, and smashed the bottle on the outside of the building, then dropped it. Haymitch sighed. But he knew she was right. They had agreed that he needed to cut way back. And he was trying. But it was hard! He had lived off this stuff for years, and he couldn't just quit cold turkey. No way no how. It was a gradual process, and Effie was getting impatient. The woman couldn't let up for just one minute, and it was driving him crazy.

Haymitch had demonstrated little to no self control regarding his drinking habits, and now he couldn't stop. Addicted didn't cover it. Effie turned to him. "What did we agree on?" she asked severely. "No more alcohol," Haymitch grumbled, preparing himself mentally for another lecture. He had been through this before, and he wasn't looking forward to doing it again. No one understood how hard it was to be him.

Effie sighed, mentally preparing herself to give Haymitch the alcohol talk again. She had done it before, and she wasn't looking forward to doing it again. She took a deep breath. "Mr. Abernathy, we had an agreement, and I believe that you are trying to cheat again! This is for the good of the revolution! Surely you don't think it fair for the entire country to suffer so you can drown yourself in beer. It is doing neither you nor Panem any good. Imagine what this foul stuff is doing to your liver."

Haymitch didn't want to know what was happening to his liver. It was probably disgusting, and he wouldn't be able to do anything about it anyway. Except quit drinking. And that was going so well. So he just sat there, trying to tune Effie out. "Mr. Abernathy, are you listening to me?" she demanded. "No, not really," Haymitch admitted.

"Do you realize what alcohol had done to you? It had ruined your life, your body, and sometimes I think your mind as well!" Effie snapped.

"I don't think the alcohol did any of that. My mind is just fine, I don't need to be strong anymore, and as for ruining my life, I think Snow has that covered." Effie just snorted. "Fine, I give up. Go ahead and kill yourself, and try and live with the deaths of two innocent teenagers, and everyone else you killed by not caring, oh, and, I almost forgot, the rest of the entire country! Just try and live with that!" She stormed out of the room, muttering obscenities under her breath. Nobody understood how hard it was, being her.

Half an hour later, Katniss was talking to Haymitch again, trying to decide on their strategy. They agreed that Katniss would pretend to sneak out of the base and commandeer a hovercraft, then force the guard to fly her to the place where the Capitol had ordered her to turn herself in. It was the place where they were holding Peeta, but Katniss wasn't supposed to know that, so she would have to be careful not to mention that. As soon as it got dark, Katniss hurried through the deserted streets of the underground city, and slipped out through the main gates.

Of course, there were guards, but she flashed her ID and gave them a fake story. After that she hiked a few minutes to the hovercraft hangars. There was a group that launched from inside the city, but she and Haymitch agreed that it would be unrealistic for her to steal one of those. So she pressed a gun between the guards' shoulder blades and ordered her into the plane.

Several hours later, they landed. Katniss was sore from sitting still for so long, and she was terrified about what would happen next. Once she and the guard were out of the plane, they were surrounded by Peacekeepers. She was grabbed and dragged a few feet from the hovercraft. A Peacekeeper raised his gun and she closed her eyes, waiting for death. There was a shot, but no pain. A few seconds later, she peeked out from beneath her lashes. The guard lay crumpled on the ground. She gasped. She should have seen it coming. What did she expect? Them to let her fly away and report the location of the camp to the rebels? They knew already, but the Capitol didn't know that. She wondered if the girl had known it was a suicide mission. Probably. Katniss couldn't believe she hadn't expected it. She stared at the girl's body. Blood soaked her curly black hair. Another Capitol murder. Katniss stared for another minute. Then she leaned over and threw up.

**K everyone! That's all for now. By the way, please check out my fan fic for The Sisters Grimm if you liked this. I'm planning on adding the second chapter today or tomorrow. Thanks! **

**~SugahRush~**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi again! So, here's chapter five! And this is really going to surprise you, but I **_**still**_** don't own The Hunger Games. Shocker, huh? Anyway, here we go. FORWARD!**

**Chapter Five**

The pain she had waited for earlier came now. It was different then she expected. There was a sickening thump, a red hot burst of pain in the back of her head, and everything went black. Mostly. Contrary to her expectations, there were little flashes of red and gold interrupting the darkness. She wondered if she was dead. Probably not, if she was thinking about it. Or was she in heaven? If so, this was a major let down. She tried to open her eyes. It was incredibly difficult, but she managed it on the third try, slitting her eyes just a little. Struggling with her unwilling muscles, she managed to open them all the way. She was in a dingy grey room, lying on hard concrete. Like, _really_ hard concrete. In fact, it hurt her head. A lot. She tried to force her hand up to touch it and see if there was a lump. It wasn't as hard as opening her eyes had been, so she must be recovering. She groaned. Her head was the worst, but the rest of her wasn't doing that great either. Everything was sore, and she had no idea where she was.

She had thought she was alone, but a second later two people were looking down at her. She was pretty sure she had seen them before somewhere. Yeah, the blond guy looked familiar, but she couldn't place him, and the woman? Maybe she had seen her on TV.

"Katniss! Katniss?" the boy was saying. Katniss? Someone's name, maybe? Come to think of it, what was her name? Katniss! Remembering her name brought everything rushing back into her mind. "Peeta!" she gasped. "Where are we? Are you okay? Am I okay? Am I dying? Cuz it feels like it." Everything came tumbling out in a rush, and she couldn't stop it. Peeta looked worried. When Katniss tried to sit up, he put his hand on her shoulder and rested her head on his lap. "Don't sit up yet," he said. "I think maybe the blood would rush the wrong way or something?" He had no idea if that was right or not. But weren't you supposed to put an unconscious person's feet up? So that meant that their head should stay down. Right?

"Thank God you're here!" Johanna said. "Peeta here was slowly—no, make that quickly- driving me insane worrying about you." Peeta blushed.

"I thought you were dead or being tortured or something," he admitted.

"I thought the same thing about you! I was so worried, and I had no idea what to do."

"You know you shouldn't have come, right? You could have been killed. Still might be."

"Of course I came. What was else could I do?"

"I knew you would. But you shouldn't have. Don't die for me. That's not what I want."

Katniss sighed. She wasn't in the mood to argue. She usually seemed to win, but she probably wouldn't when she was half conscious and sore all over. Anyway, did it count as winning the argument when you drugged your opponent? Cuz that seemed like cheating, but she always got excellent results.

"I wasn't going to watch you die." And that was all she had to say.

Johanna was torn between puking and crying. Ordinarily, she would have been laughing at the reunion of the star crossed lovers from District 12, but now it seemed real and fake at the same time. She was so used to watching them act, and now seeing them like this for real, actually caring, was so bittersweet. Sweet, because they were so young and passionate and in love. Bitter, because there was no way of knowing that they would ever get to grow old together. Grow old together. Johanna wasn't sure she would even get to grow old alone.

**K, there you have it! Does anyone think there should be more Johanna? Cuz I love to write her but she's not really a main character. So, let me know what you think! Thanks, **

**~SugahRush~**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Just in case you were wondering, Suzanne Collins still owns The Hunger Games.**

**Hey hey hey! Here is chapter six! And thanks to BookLuvr8, Ed-and-Jane, Lindsey, CashPuppy, pk, PeetaLuvrAlways, and Jjawbreakerr for reviewing my story, which means a lot to me. And Jjawbreakerr, **_**duh**_** I know the third book is called Mockingjay. Where do you think I got the idea to call this Mockingjay? Anyway, thanks again to my reviewers, and please enjoy chapter six of Mockingjay!**

Chapter Six

Several hours later, Katniss woke up screaming. Peeta was by her side in an instant. She whimpered and buried her face in his shirt, as he wrapped his arms around her. He really had meant it when he said he hadn't wanted her to come, but he would be lying if he said he wasn't happy to see her again. And he would also be lying if he said he wasn't happy to have her in his arms right now. He held her until she fell asleep, and hours later he drifted off himself.

The next morning Johanna woke up to see Katniss curled up next to Peeta. Katniss' face was streaked with tears, and Johanna almost cried herself. _Get __a hold __of yourself, Johanna! _ She ordered herself. What was wrong with her? She was all _emotional_ all of a sudden. She had rarely cried as child, and almost never as a teen and adult. Now she was almost bursting into tears at every little thing. It was terrifying. Since Angelica had died, she had forced herself not to care, to be cold and emotionless, so she wouldn't get hurt. Because Angelica's death had left scars on her heart that hadn't ever healed, and that was enough pain for anyone to deal with. But she had missed so much by keeping herself safe, and she was still so far from being happy. She hadn't been happy since back when she had friends and a family and the Hunger Games was a blackness hanging over her in the distance, not a reality. It had been horrible and repulsive to her then, but it had seemed sort of surreal. Like it was happening to other people in another world, not her friends and neighbors. And eventually herself. It was anything but surreal now. It was horrible nightmare. That was all her life was. But a nightmare had one bright side: you woke up later, and you were just fine. But Johanna wasn't going to wake up from this. The only way out was to win. So she was going to win.

Haymitch was laying on his bed in a stupor. So this was what withdrawal was like. His head pounded and he felt nauseous. His skin was clammy and he hadn't slept in two days. He was exhausted and depressed. His hands wouldn't stop shaking. He was slipping in and out of consciousness.

It felt like hours in his horrible state, but it was only about fifteen minutes till Mrs. Everdeen came sweeping in. "Mr. Abernathy!" she exclaimed, hurrying to his side. She opened one eyelid and examined his pupil, then sniffed his breath. She frowned. She never would have guessed that he had the willpower to quit this abruptly. In fact, he probably had help. But from who? Who was stupid enough to force a long time drunk to quit overnight? Hmm, that was tough. Effie Trinket! After seeing to Haymitch, Mrs. Everdeen left his room and headed off to talk to Effie. Someone was in trouble.

_Maysilee was screaming, and Haymitch dropped the rock he had been throwing at the force field and ran towards the sound. He knew their alliance was over, but he still hated the idea of her being killed. He knew he had to come home to his sister, but Maysilee had to come home too. And that was impossible. So he ignored that and ran faster. But just as he arrived, this enormous cotton candy pink bird skewered her through the neck. She crumpled to the ground, blood staining her ripped shirt and her hair. Haymitch sank to his knees at her side and held her hand. _

"_Haymitch-I-I-" But he never got to hear Maysilee Donner's last words. She sucked in one last ragged breath and then she was still. He reached out the hand not holding hers and closed her eyelids. Then he stood up and walked away from the girl he might- just might, love. _

Haymitch's eyes snapped open. Like Maysilee's never would. It had happened twenty-five years ago, but he remembered it like yesterday, and it tormented him every night. It's no wonder darkness so often represents evil. Light made him feel a little bit more secure. Once he fell asleep, that sense of security evaporated, but it was better than nothing. He groaned and sat up. He felt awful, like he was hung over, but a lot better than he had a couple hours ago. He wondered if he had somehow gotten some alcohol in his sleep. That was unlikely, but not impossible. More likely Mrs. Everdeen had been looking for someone or something and had found him. Well, since he was feeling so much better, he pushed himself to his feet and walked into the war room to see what was going on.

"How is Katniss doing? In the same cell as Peeta?" he inquired. One of the techs turned his laptop to face Haymitch. "Yup," he said. "Nothing has happened yet. No questioning, no torture, and obviously no executions."

Haymitch examined the cell. They hadn't been moved, it was the same one he had seen Peeta and Johanna in before. Good. The Capitol could have been moving then constantly to make it harder to plan an escape. Johanna was watching Katniss and Peeta sleep. She looked like she was almost crying. Something about prison can make you appreciate the small things in life, he supposed.


	7. AN Sorry!

**Hello everyone! Yes, I know everyone hates these AN chapters, but please just bear with me for a sec. I'm trying to work out my ending, so it might be a while till my next update because I want to be able to build up to it. For now, I am concentrating on my Sisters Grimm fanfic as far as updating goes, and if you've read TSG, please check it out. Thanks!**

**~SugahRush~**


	8. Hahahahahaha

**Hahahaha did you actually think I was putting this on hold? Sorry, I couldn't resist. **** But here's Chapter Seven, I hope you enjoy! **

**Chapter Seven **

I reached out and adjusted the neck of Katniss' jumpsuit, than kissed her on the forehead. "Remember, girl on fire, I'm still betting on you," I say. I take a step back as the glass cylinder slides down out of the ceiling and encloses her and her metal plate. And I am betting on her, but not to win the Games.

I wait for the plate to rise, but it remains firmly grounded. She looks at me and arches her eyebrows, asking for an explanation, but I'm as in the dark as she is.

I shake my head, and wait for something to happen that will explain the delay. Then I hear a door burst open, and I barely have time to turn my head before two Peacekeepers are pinning my arms behind me and handcuffing me. I fall to my knees when one hits me hard on the temple.

Blood flows freely, mixing with my eyeliner and sparkling red and gold. They are still hitting me, though, with gloves studded with metal, and the last thing I see before I go under is Katniss screaming and banging on the glass surrounding her.

I wake up and my hand goes to my head immediately. I touch my temple, and feel the scar there. I have a pounding headache, but I barely notice it, no matter how agonizing it is. It's almost constant since I was beaten by the Peacekeepers in the Launch Room.

I stand and stretch, then sit back down. Several seconds later, I stand back up and pace back and forth. Eight steps one way, eight steps back, over and over. I start walking in a circle for a change.

I stretch more. But after about five minutes of this, I'm bored again. I sit back down. No point burning calories unless I have to. The food here is terrible, the portions small and far between.

Worse than my starving body is my starving mind. Back in the Capitol, I was constantly busy, either designing for Katniss, talking to reporters, trying to help District 13, or more mundane thing like eating and sleeping. I liked to go for long runs in the country when I could, and now I feel like I'm slowly, slowly, suffocating for lack of the sun and fresh air and human contact. I draw a long shuddering breath, and lean back against the cold concrete wall. My eyes close, and I try to sleep, even though I'm not tired. Maybe sleep will bring escape.

More likely I will be trapped in a horrible nightmare, but at this point anything would be better than the nothingness I feel now. Adrenaline rush would make a nice change. I'm halfway there when the wall of my cell explodes and the shockwave slams me into the opposite wall, hard.

My head feels like it's going to explode as well, and the last thing I hear before I lose consciousness is a girl's scream.

**Back to Katniss!**

Katniss felt the shockwave almost before she heard the explosion, which created a painful vibrating sensation in her reconstructed ear. She stumbled back a step and dropped the tray of "food", forgetting all about it as she pulled Peeta to his feet and started towards the opening in the wall. It had to be the rebels coming to rescue her. What else could it be? She was just stepping through the jagged, smoking hole in the prison wall when someone wearing a gas mask and more importantly, carrying an automatic weapon, stepped in front of it and blocked the opening, which Katniss viewed as her gateway to freedom.

Katniss sized her up. She was pretty sure she could take her if she had to, if it weren't for the gun. But it wasn't necessary. The woman held up her hands in a gesture of peace. "Follow me," she said. Katniss decided she was a rebel and stepped through after her, with Johanna and Peeta on her heels. Outside it was chaos. Both sides, Peacekeepers and rebels were shooting indiscriminately. One Peacekeeper took out half a regiment of his own allies before realizing who he was shooting.

It was dark, and dust and shrapnel were flying, because the rebels had dropped four small bombs to open up escape routes. People were pouring out of the prison, mainly rebels and others who had defied the Capitol years ago.

Others were actual criminals who deserved prison, but hopefully that was a small percentage.

Katniss, Peeta and Johanna followed their escort, ducking bullets, lasers, and flying debris as they forged a path through the battle. They were almost to the hovercraft that the woman had headed for when Johanna shrieked and fell to the ground, clutching her stomach. Peeta was weak, but since Johanna was so underweight from the Games and months of prison, he managed to pick her up.

They didn't even stop to see what was wrong with her, just broke into as fast of a run as they could in the middle of a war zone.

The hovercraft is only ten yards away. Five yards. Two. Someone inside the hovercraft opened the door, and they piled in. The pilot put the hovercraft in gear and started to take off. "Wait!" Katniss screamed, seeing a pair of prisoners just feet from the hovercraft stumbling towards them. One was clearly injured, and the other figure struggled to support them. They had just made it when a Peacekeeper came up behind them, stabbing the already injured one with a long, sharp knife. Peeta and another man Katniss didn't recognize who got to the hovercraft ahead of them reached out to pull the other one inside. It was clear their friend wasn't going to make it. Everyone gasped when the figure's face became clear. It was a child, easily under ten years old.

"Esther!" the boy screamed, struggling fiercely to get away. Incredibly, Esther actually pulled herself to her feet, and Peeta and the stranger assisted her in as well, just as the pilot took off. "Hush, I'm okay," she tried to say, but her voice cut off halfway through, and she coughed violently, her entire body shaking hard.

She put her hand to her mouth, fingers shaking, and when it drops to her lap it's soaked with warm, crimson blood. She tried to speak again, but the effort was too great, and she just sank to the floor, her consciousness slipping away.

Her brother, or friend, or whatever, was sitting on the seat next to Johanna. "She's going to die, isn't she?" he asked her. Johanna swallowed. She didn't want to make this kid feel any worse, but Esther wasn't the picture of health at the moment. In fact neither was Johanna. She tried to focus on what to say to the boy, but she was finding it hard to concentrate on talking. And thinking took an effort. She opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came out.

A teenager who had arrived on his own right after the man who helped Esther and company on spoke up. "Where are we going?" he asked. "District 13," Katniss said. "The rebels moved there when the Capitol declared war."

"Oh." He nodded. "Do you have to sign up? Or do you just kinda move in and say 'I wanna fight'?" he asked. "You go and sign up at Barracks One. It's more of a center of operations thing that a barracks," Peeta replied.

The little boy tapped Johanna on the shoulder. She didn't respond. "I think she might be dead," he said. Katniss grabbed Johanna's wrist and checked it for a pulse. She didn't find anything. She tipped Johanna's head back and put her fingers against the side of her neck. After a minute she found a weak but steady heartbeat. "What do we do?" she asked. "They're both gonna be dead way before we get back to 13." Peeta looked like he had been hoping Katniss would know. Everyone else just looked worried. "No idea," the teenage kid said. Everyone else seemed to agree.

**OK, everyone, that was my first try at writing Cinna. Did you like it? And should I do more in the first person? Thanks for reading!**

**~SugahRush~ **


	9. Might Be Okay

**Hey everyone! So sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up, we got a new computer and I lost all my files, plus I just started Algebra 1, which is sooooo much fun, as you can , here it is. And, this is the last chapter, so if you hate my ending, I'm sorry, but you can't please everyone, and if I didn't please you, then you didn't make the cut. Enjoy! (Hopefully.) **

**~SugahRush~ **

**Chapter Eight**

Esther opened her eyes. Where was she? Her body was just a collection of various types of pain. Her throat was raw, her back had several searing lacerations down it, her head throbbed dully, and her ankle felt like it was broken. But that was unimportant at the moment. Where was Jonah? She opened her eyes slowly. Trying to form words was agonizing, but she tried anyway. "Where?" she tried to say, but the closest she got was a strangled groan.

There was no answer. She tried to look around, but she found that she couldn't move her head. The last thing she remembered was a hovercraft, escaping with Jonah, hoping that the nightmare her life had been up to this point might be over.

She had really hoped when she was hauled onto that hovercraft, even hoped she might find her parents again. But now, she wasn't even sure if she was ever going to move again. Maybe she was tied down. She tried to raise a hand, but couldn't. She couldn't move anything, not even turn her neck a little. She found she could open her mouth, blink, and wrinkle her nose, and that was it. Maybe she could swallow, too, if she had food or water. She felt nothing below her neck. She must be paralyzed!

Maybe she was even dying, and no one wanted to tell her. She started to hyperventilate, and her heart rate quickened. But then there was the feeling of something warm in her neck traveling through her veins. And she lost consciousness.

When Esther woke up the next time, she felt groggy and her head ached. She must have been out for hours. Her face felt greasy and uncomfortable, and her eyelids were heavy. There was no way to follow the passage of time in this room. The lights were artificial but not harsh, and what little of the room she could make out was clean and tidy. She tried once again to move her head, and was just able to tip it to the side. The motion must have tripped some kind of alarm, because a green light started flashing on a machine to her right, and a few seconds later Jonah rushed in.

"Esther! Are you okay?" she tried to answer, but in the end all she managed was a faint croak. She smiled, and hoped that would do. "Is it okay to tell them everything?" Jonah asked.

She nodded again. They were relying on these people for everything now. The least they could do was explain.

Jonah looked over at Plutarch. "When my sister was seventeen, she ran away with her boyfriend. They didn't want to live in District Four anymore, they wanted to fight the Capitol, and they thought that the Capitol was faking the pictures of the Justice Building, and they were all the same thing run over and over. But they got caught and he died. And she became an Avox. I don't know what happened to her, but my parents died from smallpox a year after she left, and I went to the Home. When they found out my name, they found her picture in the database under out last name, and I was sent to the Capitol. They put me in prison, and I was there for about two months before Esther got there. She says she stole something, but since she's from the Capitol she just got prison time. I think she might be hiding something, though. They have a separate prison for Capitol people. Wouldn't she have gone there?"

Plutarch frowns. "I don't know," he says. "Depends on how mad the Capitol was."

"Not so much, then, I guess," Jonah says.

Haymitch shifted in his chair. "What does your sister look like?" he asked Jonah.

"Red hair, pretty tall, gr-"

Katniss gasped. "Jonah, I met your sister! In the 74th Games, she was our Avox!"

"Was she okay?" Jonah asked. Katniss almost snorted. Okay? She had had her tongue cut out, and she spent her time waiting on tributes for the Hunger Games. Okay? Not likely. But she just nodded and said "Yeah, she was fine." _Not that we talked much_, she thought. But that was too crual to say out loud. Not to a boy who had lost his family and his hime so young. In fact, how young? "How old are you?" she asked.

Jonah smiled. "Nine and a half," he said proudly. Katniss smiled back. She needed to smile more often, she thought. She might not be able to for very long. A buzzer sitting on the table went off. "What's that mean?" she asked quickly. _Maybe the Capitol is bombing us!_ "Ah, Johanna is awake," Haymitch said. Finnick, who had been quiet up till now, smiled. "What about Annie?" he asked. "Finnick-I-she didn't make it out," Haymitch stammered. Finnick blanched. "No one told me! It's been twenty-four hours!" he yelled.

Katniss gasped. She couldn't believe no one had the heart to tell finnick. She had thought he was holding himself together for the rebels, in agony on the inside but fine on the outside, not letting others see his pain. But he hadn't known? No one had told him? That was so much crueler than telling him he was dead, not letting him get his hopes up. gether for the rebels, hurting on the inside but not showing it. No one had told him? That was far crueler than telling him she was dead, because he had his hopes up, and they had just come crashing down. Annie Cresta was dead. Katniss looked over at Finnick. Just as she glanced his way, Finnick Odair, for the first time in his life, fainted.

**(A/N this is a couple of days after the last scene.) **

Peeta opened his eyes, and stretched his arms over his head. He felt okay, and he had to find out if everyone else had made it. His first thought was for Katniss, but she hadn't been injured at all. Johanna, though, and the girl, Esther, had looked pretty bad. Who else had been with them? No one he knew. He hoped they had managed to snag Annie as well. Finnick's life must be horrible now. There hadn't been anyone else the mission had targeted. It was him, Katniss, Johanna, and Annie. He swung himself out of bed, his prosthetic leg clicking against the floor. He never could get used to the thing. When he opened the door to his room, he suddenly wondered why he was in the hospital at all. Maybe because he had been so underweight and weak. In fact, he did seem to have gained six or seven pounds. Probably mostly fluids, though. He headed out into the hall. In just a few seconds, a nurse came along. "Peeta, you're still supposed to be in bed!" she admonished. When she took off her clean white mask, he recognized her as Mrs. Everdeen. "Am I? I'm sorry. I wanted to see if everyone else made it," he explained.

"Well, you seem okay. Johanna is still in critical condition, the young woman with the knife wound and the laser to her spinal column is partially paralyzed but doing much better, and everyone else from your hovercraft is scrapes and bruises, nothing serious."

"Did they rescue Annie Cresta?" he asked. Mrs. Everdeen shook her head. "She didn't make it out of the prison, she was wounded and presumed dead."

Peeta winced. Poor Finnick. He wondered how he was taking the news. "Where's Katniss?" he asked. "She's in Command. She was asking for you, but you were still on the IV and unconscious." Peeta nodded. "Can I see her?" he asked. Mrs. Everdeen nodded. "Yes, take the next right, then down six levels on the elevator, right again, left, and the first flight of stairs you see." Peeta smiled. "Thanks!" "Any time."

Katniss looked up when the door swung open. Pushing aside the coffee Plutarch had encourageed her to try, she gasped when she saw Peeta. He looked far better than he had three days ago. Apparently, District 13 was on par with the Capitol in cleaning people up from the after affects of starvation and battle. She jumped up.

Peeta wrapped his arms around Katniss. "You're back!" she said. Yes, it was a very cliché greeting, but it was wonderful to _be_ back. And there, for just a second, Peeta felt that it was possible that everything might, possibly, be okay.


	10. A Final Note

**Hi everyone, it is I, SugahRush! I just wanted to say a few things to you guys, in conclusion of my story. First of all, thanks to everyone who stuck it out and read the entire thing.**

**Personally, I think it sucks, but I appreciate you reading it anyway. And as for the Gale/Madge pairing, I definitely don't ship that, I was merely trying it out to see how I liked it. Not so much. **

**And I know the fate of Panem is left unexplained, but my story was about individual people and what they were going through, not Panem as a whole. I'm leaving that to SC. ;) **

**Speaking of, Mockingjay in all it's glory is now out. I soooo want to gloat about a couple things and complain about a whole lot of others, but if you want the spoilers you'll have to PM me. Wouldn't want to ruin it for anyone. But seriously, I would be happy to tell anyone anything they want. All you have to do is ask! **

**So, go forth and but that book, or just ask me, but either way, DO NOT miss the epic finale of The Hunger Games! Thanks for everything!**

**~SugahRush~**


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